


My Crush, My Love Life and Me

by cutesudon



Category: My Brother My Brother and Me (Podcast), Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Between Episodes, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Humor at the cost of embarrassment, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Katsuki Yuuri, POV Victor Nikiforov, Post-Canon, Social Media, Summer of mutual pining, Victor's Terrible Flirting Skills, Victor's underwear shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-05 10:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13386048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutesudon/pseuds/cutesudon
Summary: Victor needs answers. Yahoo answers.His embarrassing questions are apparently read in a popular podcast—one introduced to him by none other than Yuuri himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It started with a [silly prompt](http://vityanikiforova.tumblr.com/post/169698521208/i-want-a-yuri-on-ice-fic-where-victor-uses-yahoo) I came up with myself. Apparently, I got too invested.  
> Thank you [Chloe](http://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHeather/pseuds/RedHeather) for beta reading this for me <3

Victor Nikiforov has many qualities: he is the most decorated skater in the world, possesses great beauty, can lick the tip of his nose and is a pretty good cook.

That being said, flirting isn’t exactly his forté.

All of his dates had been effortless—he didn't need to worry about catching their date's interest, and when he wasn’t particularly engrossed with the idea of committing to a relationship dating was... almost easy. The other part would usually to make the most effort and Victor would allow himself to be chased.

Victor’s experience with dating wasn’t exactly... vast. It wasn’t his number one interest and, in his youth, he had been too shy to go after someone he was interested in. So for the vast majority of his adulthood, he couldn’t recall ever flirting with someone with the full intention of seducing them. It had always been a given—who wouldn’t want to date  _the_ Victor Nikiforov?

He knew that eventually his lack of aptitude to flirt would come back to bite him in the ass. He only didn’t know it would make him groan in exasperation when he didn’t know what to do and how to proceed.

The beautiful boy from the banquet, Yuuri Katsuki, hadn’t called him back. Granted, he had been the drunkest Victor had ever seen a person be, but he knew Victor—was his fan—and wouldn’t stop thanking him and apologizing for his behavior.

He had been cute. Too cute.

Victor really wanted to know him better—talk to him without three liters of champagne in his system—so he had given him his number. Casual, right? It had happened to him before.

Though... he had never been on the other end. He didn’t know what to do. Chris didn’t know what to tell him and the fact Yuuri didn’t use social media made it even harder for him to figure out what to do.

So in a late night,  when he couldn’t sleep because he was too busy trying to think of what he could possibly do to draw Yuuri’s attention to him, he had an idea.

He would ask the internet.

Not publicly, of course—he didn’t wish to embarrass Yuuri, nor himself in case people somehow find out. He set up an anonymous profile and took it to Yahoo! Answers.

  

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: Cute boy won’t call me back. Help?!**
> 

> 
> _I met a very cute guy at a party and I’m absolutely head over heels with him. He charmed me, had my heart in his hands and breathed air into my lungs. He has the voice of an angel, a face sculpted by God Himself and abs that would make Greek statues weep. We had a wonderful time dancing (he is a magnificent dancer) at this party and I gave him my phone number so we could possibly meet up again._  
>  _He was pretty drunk so I don’t know if he misplaced my phone number or if he’s too embarrassed to call me back but I’m pretty sure that he likes me. He asked me to help him with his work (we are kind of colleagues but not really) so I know he would like us to get to know each other better._ _  
> _ _PS: He doesn’t have any social media as far as I’m aware and my phone number is the only way we could talk without having to go on lengthy explanations to our coworkers as to why I want his phone number. What should I do???_

 

The responses Victor had gotten were widely unhelpful, ranging from "move on" to "maybe he's not into you". He couldn’t blame them—his explanation was vague, and people didn’t have the patience to help with those matters, more often than not providing him with useless advice and saying things he didn’t want to read.

Ultimately, he decided to wait. Give Yuuri some time to digest what had happened at the banquet in case he was too embarrassed, and use the time to update himself on Yuuri’s situation. Get to know him. Learn topics that would make small talk easy. Let those cute videos of Yuuri being adorable off the ice make him fall harder and harder, and eventually ache for his unrequited feelings.

After a while, a video where Yuuri Katsuki was recorded performing a nearly perfect copy of Victor’s long program became viral. Victor nearly dropped his phone in the bathtub when Chris sent him the link the first time. It had to mean something, right? The skating, the emotion, the meaning of the song—Victor was certain Yuuri was aware of the meaning all of those things carried to him.

Chris was confident it meant Yuuri was calling for him, that maybe this had been the way he found to remind Victor that he still wanted him and that he meant the words he had spoken back in the banquet. While the meaning was undeniably clear, Victor found Yuuri’s methods to be a bit puzzling. He was curious to get some more opinions on the matter.

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: The boy I have a crush on is acting cryptically?**
> 

> 
> _This is about the boy I met at the party._  
>  _After a long time without news from him, he decided on a weird way to call my attention and I’m not sure if it’s meant to call for my attention or it it’s just something he just casually decided to do? I’m uncertain. He seems to want me to reach out to him, but at the same time he’s chosen the most difficult way to do so?_  
>  _I know this is not very clear but it’s the best I can offer right now. What do I do?_  
>  **teenweed replied:** _sounds like your crush is either going out of his way to impress you by being extra af or you’re reading too much into it. anyway, you know him better than anyone here, so it’s your call really._ _  
> _ **pebblethedwayne replied:** _don’t waste your time your crush sounds like a moron who just wants attention_ _  
> _ **furrychurch replied:** _I would try to talk to people who know him and ask close friends for advice (if that’s possible). Sounds like you’re not very close, so sometimes having an opinion from people who know him better might help you on how to approach the situation._

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: How do I know if my crush likes me back?**
> 

> 
> _The boy I have a crush on is hard to read. I know he likes me (from what people have said and some observations that I’ve made) but I don’t know if he like-likes me. It’s a kind of long-distance thing so it makes things even more difficult because it’s not like I can go to his country to hang out…_  
>  **truckshepard replied:** _how does anyone know if your crush likes you back lmao_  
>  **aesthetic_pineapple replied:** _i guess you can only tell for sure if you get to know him better. you don’t have to move countries just to meet him (i think it’s a dramatic move so i wouldn’t do it) but you could make video calls and do fun things together such as watching movies and playing games. even if you guys don’t end up dating, a friendship is always welcome!_ _  
> _ **bethany_esda replied:** _sounds like hes not into you sorry :)_ _  
> _ **HighElfEnthusiast replied:** _i mean maybe it’s best if you guys just become friends if there’s no chance to meet irl? if you can tho it’s fun you guys should definitely hang out but don’t get your hopes up so you don’t hurt yourself_

  

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: Is moving to your crush’s country acting “desperately”?**
> 

> 
> _I think my crush might have invited me to come to his country so we can date??_  
>  _I’m not sure because his method is very unclear, but it makes sense to something he said when we met a while ago and I think he is inviting me to come to his country so we can be together. While I’m 100% down to pack and go I’m not sure if he’ll think I’m desperate? What if he doesn’t mean it? But at the same time I think he really means it, right?_  
>  _I’ll have to give my career a break but it means helping him out with his career so I guess it would look good on my CV?_  
>  **adultc00l replied:** _wtf are you serious lmao_  
>  **OmegaSusan replied:** _Moving to a different country is a huge step and I wouldn’t advise doing it for a crush. If you have interest in living in that country and you can keep your work in that new place then I guess… go for it? Think well and through before you arrange everything, though. It’s not a simple decision._ _  
> _ **shrimpjesus replied:** _i agree it’s not a simple decision but you’re an adult. do what you think is right. just don’t rush into making decisions and you should be fine. i think that as long as your main focus isn’t your crush it’s a nice opportunity to travel around the world?_ _  
> _ **bookwyrm replied:** _moving countries because of a crush is 100% desperation but if your crush doesn’t know you’re thirsting that bad for them then it’s not so embarrassing i guess_

 

Victor had gotten a handful of useful replies that he decided to take with a grain of salt. They were sober, emotionally distant analysis on his turmoils, and he legitimately found good advice in some of them—in that case, it was much better to ask strangers online for advice than bring it up with people who knew him.

He gave himself some time to think, to weight up consequences and plan for his future. After some thoughts and phone calls, Victor had settled on following his heart and going to Japan after the man who had stolen his heart. It was a risky decision that he had taken on his own, without telling anyone else about it, and Victor was ready to face the consequences.

He knew things wouldn’t become easy and solve themselves immediately the moment Victor set foot in Yuuri’s house. But he didn’t expect things to be so complicated, either.

The man who had charmed, flirted and seduced him turned out to be incredibly shy—almost to the point of being scared of him.

It hurt. Rationally, Victor knew he was wrong in assuming Yuuri would be OK with kissing and sleeping together right off the bat, but he couldn’t help the feeling of having his heart crushed into tiny little pieces after he realized Yuuri and him weren’t on the same page.

It was almost like Yuuri regretted what he’d done at the banquet—or forgotten about it if Victor didn’t know any better. He acted strangely in those first days—looking away when Victor looked at him, blushing at the slightest questions Victor asked him, avoiding being alone with him in a room. Victor figured it was because of his family—it was understandable he wouldn’t behave like he did at the banquet in his own home—but even when they spent time together, making small talk and trying to get to know each other, Yuuri was surprisingly skittish.

It made it difficult for Victor to understand him. 

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks:** **My crush saw me naked and ran away screaming?**
> 

> 
> _While I was bathing, naked as in the day I was born, my crush barged into the room, stared at me and then ran away screaming. I understand that maybe he didn’t mean to run into me like that but now he’s too embarrassed to look me in the eye? What should I do?_

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboyasks: my crush just said a rice dish turns him on?? like sexually????**
> 

> 
> _i asked him what turned him on and he screamed that food is his ultimate turn on and i'm really hurt? what does a rice dish has that i dont?? what am i doing worng_

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: i think my crush doesn’t like me back and i don’t know what to do**
> 

> 
> _i came all the way over here for nothing???? Did i read too much into the situation?_  

 

 

>   * **goldpoodleboy asks: good heartbreak songs??**
> 

> 
> _i’m going out tonight to drink my sorrows away and i want a playlist_

 

Victor decided not to recur on the website for a while. If anything, wailing about his lack of luck in his love life online wouldn’t help him become the coach Yuuri deserved, and he’d been too embarrassed by his latest questions to look at the replies.

He had bigger projects to focus on. He needed to be a good coach and help Yuuri get the recognition he deserved, so he couldn’t let his emotions have the best of him.

Focusing on coaching Yuuri turned out to be an effective way of getting to know him, of growing closer and more familiar with the man who had stolen his heart. Victor realized he had read the situation wrong from the start and that had been an immense relief for him. Yuuri liked him—whether as a crush or not it was still hard to tell—and was a dedicated fan who was trying his best to keep it a secret from Victor.

It was adorable. The more he got to know about Yuuri—about his personal life and the smallest details that made Yuuri so unique—the harder he fell for him. The looking away and the blushing weren't signs of annoyance like Victor had read before—but flustering, from hearing nice words about himself from someone he considered an idol. The small yet crushing concerns his anxiety brought him taught Victor how to be patient and help Yuuri. The skittish posture Yuuri adopted that meant he had something on his mind.

Yuuri was fascinating. Victor’s crush only grew stronger. He was sure he had fallen in love with the most precious human being on earth.

As they grew closer through the course of summer, Victor picked up on some of Yuuri’s habits. After soaking in the onsen after an exhausting day of practice, Yuuri would play video games or grab his laptop to browse the internet on his bed while Victor read a book or played with Makkachin.

But sometimes spending the day together wasn’t enough—they still had thoughts to share and things to talk about—and they started developing the habit of spending evenings together as well. They would each do their things, focused on their own tasks, in Victor’s room. Sometimes they would do things together like watching series and discussing work, and the longer the time they spent together more often these things became.

“Do you listen to podcasts, Victor?” Yuuri asked, unplugging the headphones from his laptop.

“Not really,” Victor replied, folding a pile of clothes that were scattered on his bed. “I’ve tried, but usually interesting podcasts become background noise to me and I’m not able to focus on what they’re talking about for too long.”

“Can I show you one that I like?”

Victor wasn’t one to deny a bonding moment.

Looking at Yuuri, he smiled. “Of course. What is it about?”

Yuuri turned the volume of his laptop up, placing it on the end of Victor’s bed.

“It’s three brothers who read questions from Yahoo Answers and offer advice,” Yuuri explained, clicking on the latest episode. “Most of them are funny responses to weird questions, but sometimes they give deep advice to more serious questions.”

Victor nodded as Yuuri hit play. Yahoo Answers had a wide variety of weird and funny questions to pick—there was nothing to be worried about.

The catchy rock music began playing and the brothers introduced themselves. Two minutes in, they were already laughing at the brothers’ silly jokes even before they started reading questions. And when the questions came up, they lost it. There was something about the way they read it—the build-up, the drama before an unexpectedly silly question—that made it so much funnier. Yuuri would snort-laugh at some points, which made it impossible for Victor not to laugh along, and sometimes commentaries sprouted after particularly enticing questions.

It was something fun to do with Yuuri—much like watching a movie and making comments about it, except they were focused on their own things as they listened.

“ _Hey, guys! It’s ya boy!_ ” One of them called—Victor hadn’t quite picked out their names.

“ _It’s ya boy, goldpoodleboy!_ ” Another voice cheered happily.

There was a noise. Victor wasn’t sure if it came from his throat, but the dread he felt as he heard his anonymous username being read out loud by the people on the podcast made it possible. Yuuri was relaxed on the couch—playing a game on his phone—and only made the slightest movement to look around, searching for the source of the noise.

He felt his stomach drop, his heart freeze in his chest. Yuuri looked at him and Victor nearly panicked.

“Alright, this user...” Yuuri started with a smile on his face, but his expression quickly shifted into curiosity. “Are you OK?”

“I choked on my spit,” he explained, forcing a chuckle as he tried to look natural.

“Oh, be careful,” Yuuri teased. “So, this user is almost a recurring character in the series. He’s been pining really hard for his crush and is almost always asking for dating advice.”

Since they had started listening to the show, Yuuri would make frequent interventions to explain to Victor how its format and how it worked when the hosts failed to. The fact that Victor’s account had become a _recurring character_ in the show made him nearly pass out.

Yuuri made himself comfortable on the couch again, unlocking his phone’s screen and resuming the game. He was completely unfazed by Victor’s badly concealed shock—either that, or he was overdue a visit to the optician.

“ _He’s still at it?_ ” One of the voices asked. Victor felt his cheeks grow hot. “ _Boy, I sure hope this guy’s dry spell is over_.”

They laughed. Victor closed his eyes and pressed his face against a pile of fresh clothes inside his wardrobe. It was smooth. Cool. Non-judgmental. 

“ _Yeah, it’s been a while_ ,” the first voice agreed. “ _Anyway. Yahoo user goldpoodleboy asks… ‘_ _How much underwear is too much underwear?_ ’”

There was a hearty laughter from the brother’s part as Victor felt his blood hot in his face. It was embarrassing—but there was no way people could tell, was there? Yuuri laughed, focused on the game on his phone, and Victor tried to take a deep breath to urge the tension away from his body.

“‘ _I want to impress my crush so I’m shopping for new underwear for when we meet, and while I can buy some while I’m traveling I don’t want to go empty-handed’_ ,” the first one read—or so Victor thought. Their voices were incredibly similar. “‘ _I want him to know I have good taste and I want to look pretty for him in case things escalate. Problem is I don’t know his taste, so having variety would be useful. What number and kinds of lingerie would you consider ideal for me to take on my travel? And what is sexier: lace or silk?’_ ”

The questions were punctuated with chuckles and some responses. Victor felt the tension leave his shoulders. Of all his embarrassing questions, this one was the least on the nose, and admittedly one of the funniest ones he had on the website. Yuuri snorted, laughing at the absurdity of the question. It was an old one, which meant it made it less likely for Yuuri to find out he was the author behind them.

“This guy can’t be serious,” Yuuri laughed.

Trying not to give away how stressed he was, Victor resumed his activity as he made an effort to act casual. He drew a deep breath before asking,

“Who?”

“The guy from the question—goldpoodleboy. I think it’s fake, to be honest—no one can be that clueless about dating. But if he is, I’m honestly cheering for him.”

“Really?” Victor asks, looking at the pile of unfolded clothes.

“Yeah. He’s clueless, but it’s endearing,” Yuuri perked up on the couch to better look at Victor. “The questions he asks make it sound like he’s never flirted in his life before.”

Victor felt his face get warm again and busied himself with opening a window instead of saying something. The brothers were still going on about the lingerie question, and while they were mostly making fun of it—suggesting goldpoodleboy to become a lingerie model and casually show his crush his collection of lingerie shots for an opinion or something—Victor did take some of their advice in consideration. He hated to admit that.

“This is such a silly question,” Yuuri laughed, shaking his head at the suggestions the brothers were firing on a roll.

“Yeah, right?” Victor forced a chuckle.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Yuuri paused to listen to what the brothers were saying and smiled. “Unless they want their crush to gift them underwear, I guess. But this thing of impressing with lingerie isn’t actually that important, right?”

Victor felt a little like a fool.

“Yeah, well… Maybe they were hoping to take things a step further?” Victor mumbled noncommittally.

“Definitely. But even if they do, why worry about the underwear, of all things?”

Victor shrugged, feeling his face grow hot again.

“I don’t know. To make things special, maybe? Show that they care, that they’ve put thought and effort into looking good for their special someone.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Yuuri nodded. “But also… You don’t need expensive underwear to make it important.”

Victor knew Yuuri long enough to tell he was blushing without having to look at his face. For all the time they had been together—roughly three months now—he had never seen Yuuri talk so much about a topic like dating or flirting. He allowed Yuuri to open up with attentive ears.

“I mean it’s not…” He continued. “It’s not about that _one_ nigh that has to be special. It’s more about the time you get to spend together, the memories you build together that makes you like the person. That’s what counts for me. Fancy underwear is just an extra touch, but it’s not the most important thing to worry about.”

Yuuri was blushing to the tip of his ears in such an adorable way it almost made Victor forget about his own embarrassment. Yuuri Katsuki was indeed an angel.

“I agree.”

“Sorry, I talked too much,” Yuuri curled on the couch, assuming his previous, slouched position for playing games and looking away from Victor.

“Don’t be. I like to know what you think about things,” Victor smiled.

Yuuri hummed something from the couch. The topic ceased to be about goldpoodleboy’s question and became something else that Victor wasn’t quite following, too busy wrapping his head around Yuuri’s words.

“So I guess you don’t have a preference?” Victor asked, feeling a bit bolder.

“Huh?”

“Lace or silk lingerie?”

Now, Yuuri was the one making noises as he turned around to look at Victor, wide-eyed and surprised.

“Why are you asking?”

Victor laughed. Nervously.

“Personally, I think silk is more comfortable to wear—”

“On _you_?” Yuuri asked, jaw hanging low. It took less than a second for his cheeks burn, and Victor had a guess Yuuri’s cheeks were mirroring his own.

“Well, yeah. I don’t have much of a preference when it comes to what other people are wearing.”

There was a silent moment where Yuuri just stared at Victor, eyes blown wide and cheeks red.

“N-no comment,” Yuuri murmured, sinking back on the sofa.

“Come on, Yuuri,” Victor teased, throwing a pillow at him. “Help goldpoodleboy. What’s your preference?”

Hugging the pillow Victor threw at him, Yuuri mumbled his response which was too long to be either option. Deciding it was pushing his luck too much, Victor resumed his activities, leaving Yuuri alone until his blushing ceded a little bit.

“Whoever this guy has a crush on is so lucky,” Yuuri hummed after a minute. “He sounds funny, and he talks about his crush with so much passion. I’ll miss hearing from him but I really hope goldpoodleboy gets to date his crush one day.”

Victor offered him a wistful smile.

“Me too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally... We get some closure!  
> Ever since I published the original work I intended on making a small, extra chapter just to give these boys a closure. And it's finally here!  
> This update was prompted by [@wewritevictuuri](http://wewritevictuuri.tumblr.com/)'s weekly prompt and beta-ed by Ditto! Please, enjoy <3

At first, Yuuri didn’t pay much mind to it. The funny, recurring account desperately asking for dating advice had become a part of the podcast Phichit had introduced to him years ago. The questions were hilarious, if not deeply pitiful, and they never failed to bring Yuuri a smile with the clueless doubts about love life.

Yuuri was almost sure it was a fake account or an elaborate character created by one of the brothers—even though it sounded like an awful lot of effort. He found it hard to believe someone living in the twenty-first century could be  _that_ clueless about flirting.

Real or not, it was a fun feature in the show. On occasions, Yuuri found himself expecting for one of goldpoodleboy’s oblivious questions about what move he should try next. The McElroy brothers sure had some good laughs at questions like “should I move to my crush’s country?” and “how much underwear should I pack for a one-year travel?”, but more often than not they offered good advice for the unsuspecting user.

It got a little weird after his lifetime-crush, international celebrity Victor Nikiforov moved to his insignificant city to  _coach_ him.

(Well, _a lot_ went weird after that, but what puzzled him the most was the Yahoo user in the podcast.)

He couldn’t help but see similarities between goldpoodleboy’s questions and some circumstances of his life. The weird questions had a slight brush with Yuuri’s reality, but they had nothing consistent enough to be more than that. They were odd questions that seemed plausible enough to happen to anyone, and in no way related to Yuuri himself.

Yuuri immediately ruled out some of those coincidences as just that— _coincidences_.

He reasoned that he was just overthinking it.

Until the rice dish question. That one had frightened him—how  _common_ was it for people to ask advice on a situation like that? Judging by the brothers’ laughter, not very. But the thought of t _he_ Victor Nikiforov being that clueless about romance and, of all people, crushing on underwhelming Yuuri Katsuki made it pretty clear to him that this scenario was only true in his head.

There was only one way of making sure it was Victor or not.

Yuuri decided he would ask him. Plain and simple—tell him the story from the start, because that was what they had been working on, and ask Victor if it was him. But… What if Victor wasn’t, in fact, the Yahoo user goldpoodleboy and Yuuri just ended up embarrassing himself? And worse yet, what if Victor thought Yuuri was  _delusional_ for thinking something like that could happen to him?

No. Yuuri couldn’t do it. He needed an easier way out.

He decided to show him the podcast.

_Casually_.

They had been spending more time together recently, outside training hours—just doing things together like watching silly videos and building a relationship. It would make sense for Yuuri to show him the podcast, because it was, indeed, one of his favorites—and who on Earth didn’t enjoy laughing at harmless questions?

It was the perfect plan. Yuuri could barely sit still when he hit play on the podcast, pretending to be interested in a game on his phone while Victor tidied his wardrobe. He wanted to peek, survey his expression as he listened to the podcast in search of possible hints—but he couldn’t. He needed to play cool.

When finally, goldpoodleboy showed up, Yuuri didn’t get anything substantial from Victor. Nothing. Absolutely nada. He had made jokes about the situation despite looking a bit embarrassed—but, to be fair, so did Yuuri—and didn’t seem to know anything more than the brothers themselves did.

Yuuri felt like a perfect idiot.

A part of him was not entirely convinced, and the other wondered how he would react if Victor came up to him and admitted being goldpoodleboy. Yuuri, as a whole, wanted to forget his suspicions and get back to enjoying the podcast without his paranoia acting up.

But there comes a time where paranoia ends and confirming suspicions begins.

Victor was showering. Yuuri was doing his last stretches before bed, listening to the podcast as usual.

“ _Justin, Justin_ ,” Griffin called, “ _we have a serious issue with goldpoodleboy and we might be able to actually help them this time._ ”

Yuuri perked up, Travis’s “ _wait, what?”_ echoing his thoughts.

“ _So you mean we weren’t able to help them all this time?”_ Justin asks calmly.

Ignoring his brother, Griffin called:

“ _Yahoo Answers user goldpoodleboy asks_ ,” there was a dramatic pause. “ _I think my crush knows about my questions here?’_ ”

Yuuri was frozen in a middle split, eyes lost in some point of his room, his heart in his throat. His world had narrowed down to his earbuds and Griffin McElroy’s voice.

“ _Oh, no_ ,” a sympathetic Travis was heard in the background.

The brothers deliberated on the matter for a couple of minutes while Yuuri’s world spiraled out of control. Was he right? Had it been Victor all along? Would he need to listen to all the episodes to glue the pieces together? How did he feel about all this? How could he bring this up with Victor?

“‘ _Apparently, my questions are being read by some podcast, and while I admit it has brought me a lot of benefits I’m afraid my crush listens to it and might be able to identify me through the questions I’ve put here. I want to let him know the truth but I’m embarrassed. How do I deal with this?_ ’”

What followed was a buzz that Yuuri could barely make sense of—his thoughts mixed with the brothers’ voices and his emotions in turmoil as his head came up with a hundred and one scenarios and possibilities that made him dizzy.

“ _Here is the thing_ ,” Travis intervened after some discussion. “ _Send us a confession. You can send us an email at yahoo brothers dot com with a love letter attached and we’ll do the rest for you_. _We’ll work the magic. We’ll make a nice serenade to your crush and work out the details later_.”

“ _I have to say,_ ” Justin spoke, “ _goldpoodleboy has done nothing wrong. They sound like a sweet person and I can safely affirm we are all hoping for this person to finally ask their crush out on a date,_ ” there were sounds of agreement from the other brothers. “ _So… Whoever is listening out there, whoever thinks goldpoodleboy is someone you know and who might be crushing on you… Give them a chance._ ”

Yuuri meant to find an opportunity to ask Victor—he really did. But before he knew it competitive season was knocking at the door, the talk of getting gold at the GPF was more serious than ever, and Victor and he were training nonstop to achieve that goal. Naturally, that left both of them too tired to do anything after showering and eating that had to do anything other than sneaking into bed and sleeping.

So Yuuri… sort of forgot it.  

Well, not really. He would still think of it from time to time, and the more he thought of it, the more OK he was with the idea that maybe it was Victor, and that Victor was probably too embarrassed to admit anything. And if that was the case, Yuuri understood him completely. But for the time being, he had bigger plans in his mind than the shenanigans of goldpoodleboy’s love life.

There were Nationals. There was the Cup of China and his and Victor’s first kiss. There was their blooming relationship as new boyfriends and the intensified work to win gold at the Grand Prix Final. So at that time, especially after the Cup of China, Yuuri’s mind was overpopulated with goals, thoughts, and concerns that shoved his curiosity aside.  

He barely even had the time to listen to the podcast anymore—because whenever they now had a moment where they weren’t busy or tired, they were doing things together like watching a movie or going on a small date. Staying at home listening to a podcast wasn’t a recurring thing anymore, and while Yuuri missed it, he was too busy enjoying this new routine he didn’t ever wish to end to worry about getting an update from the silly Yahoo account.

It was on a specially cold night a few weeks before Rostelecom Cup when they listened to the podcast again. At Victor’s invitation, they were cuddling on his bed—he’d argued it was much more comfortable than Yuuri’s, but given the fact Victor made a point of staying as close to him as possible this made Yuuri want to laugh—under fluffy duvets and wearing comfortable pajamas. Yuuri was torn between dozing off on Victor’s chest and inviting him to watch some episodes of Victor’s favorite TV show when Victor plucked him from his thoughts.

“We never listened to the boys again,” Victor murmured, his lips against Yuuri’s head, placing a kiss there as if to punctuate his sentence.

Yuuri rubbed his eye. Victor had, in fact, become a fan of them—had watched some of their videos and listened to other podcasts—and something in Yuuri’s heart stirred with pride with the knowledge that he had introduced Victor to something new that he enjoyed.

“We could listen to an episode before sleep…” He whispered the suggestion, peeking at Victor through his dark lashes. He was a gorgeous blur. “You decide, coach.”

Victor checked his phone with the corner of his mouth turned upwards slightly in a smile.  

“It’s 10:40PM so I’m officially in Boyfriend Mode for eight hours and twenty minutes,” Victor replied, pulling him for a kiss. “Let’s listen to one episode.”

Yuuri chuckled as he fumbled the bed for his phone.

“Even when you’re in Boyfriend Mode you sound like a coach,” he teased.

“Well, would you look at that! Maybe that’s because your coach is your boyfriend,” Victor tickled Yuuri’s side, earning a cascade of giggles.

Cuddling close together, they noncommittally listened to the podcast playing on Yuuri’s phone, dividing their attention between making out lazily and actually listening to it. The questions weren’t particularly funny in this episode—even though the brothers tried to make the best out of it, Victor and Yuuri couldn’t help but ignore it at times, preferring to gaze lovingly at each other and explore their features carefully.

“ _We haven’t heard from goldpoodleboy in a while, Griffin. What happened?_ ”

Justin’s voice was like an arm pulling Yuuri from a stream, making him actually focus on the podcast with interest while Victor resumed playing with his hair lovingly.

“ _That’s a good question, Juice. He never published anything again…_ ”

“That’s because he got his crush’s attention,” Victor replied quietly, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at Yuuri with fondness.

Yuuri nodded at Victor’s words, turning his attention back to the podcast when—

Wait.

Yuuri sat up, nearly hitting his forehead on Victor’s as the gears in his brain started working and he widened his eyes at Victor, mouth dropping as he tried to form the words that were rushing to his brain.

“You—The guy—goldpoodleboy— _You_ —“ Yuuri slapped his tie in victory as he started laughing. “I _knew_ it!”

Victor, blushing all the way up to his ears, looked away shyly as he shrugged.

“Maybe?” He asked with a smile.

That was a yes.

Yuuri laughed. Incredulous. Exhilarated? Surprised, most definitely, while Victor looked at him with a loving expression, cheeks pink even in the dimly lit bedroom. Calming down, Yuuri took a deep breath and cupped Victor’s adorable face between his hands, peppering kisses on every inch of skin he came across.

“I love you,” he whispered over and over until Victor was giggling along, complaining softly about Yuuri’s sloppy kisses.

“I can’t believe that was you,” Yuuri sighed, pulling him for a hug and nesting Victor comfortably on his chest. “I mean, what are the odds.”

“I know,” Victor placed a gentle kiss at the base of Yuuri’s throat. “That first time you showed me the podcast—I thought you were going to say ‘I know that’s you, Victor! Tell me the truth’ and honestly, I don’t think I was ready to admit it yet.”

Yuuri laughed.

“Well, I wasn’t sure then, but…”

“It started making sense as time passed,” Victor nodded.

“A little bit,” Yuuri chuckled. “I didn’t want to press you to say anything.”

Resting his chin on Yuuri’s chest, Victor smiled shyly. That loving smile hanging at the corners of Victor’s lips after that confession reminded Yuuri yet again how much he loved the man in his arms.

“Thank you.”

Yuuri placed a feather-light kiss on Victor’s forehead.

“Let’s listen to a few more questions before we get some sleep,” Yuuri suggested.

* * *

 

Two weeks later, the brothers received an email they read on their podcast.

“ _Now, here on My Brother, My Brother, and Me we don’t usually read emails_ ,” Griffin said. “ _But we thought we should make this an exception since it’s related to a beloved account that we have all grown to love and cheer for in this podcast. Yes, I am talking about our favorite, most helplessly in love Yahoo Answers user, goldpoodleboy._ ”

“ _We got news from them?_ ” Travis asked, excitement dripping from his voice.

“ _Better than that—We got full disclosure of the goldpoodleboy’s saga to get his crush’s attention and love, and this is such an important moment I just wanted to say thank you to every listener out there who tried to help this guy..._ ”

“ _Griffin, just get on with it_ , _we_ can't  _wait_ ” Justin urged.

“ _OK. Before we begin, I just want you to know I’m reading the most important parts of this email because… It’s pretty long. Anyway. It says ‘Dear brothers. It came as a surprise to me to know my questions on Yahoo were being read on your podcast, but an even bigger surprise when it was none other than the boy I loved who introduced me to your show. All of my most embarrassing questions were being read to an audience of people I didn’t know, and more fascinating was the fact that apparently so many people were cheering me on to get together with the one I love.’ So here he talks a little about his life, which I’m not going to read, and then he says. ‘I am happy to tell you that my crush and I are now engaged—_ “

The other two brothers cooed, making comments about how happy they were for goldpoodleboy.

_“—and all I want to say is thank you for helping me get people who offered legitimate advice for me to conquer my fiancé’s heart.’ And he signs off by saying ‘Please, expect an invitation to our marriage—it shouldn’t take long, but it depends on my fiancé winning gold’ which I’m not entirely sure what that means, because if your fiancé’s got your heart that’s the best gold they can ever win. ‘Signed: goldpoodleboys’. So, hey! Congratulations on your engagement!_ ”

“ _We are happy to hear from you!_ ” Justin cheered.

“ _Way to go, goldpoodleboy! Can’t wait for this marriage. I’ll bring extra champagne!”_ Travis chuckled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! <3
> 
> You can follow me on [tumblr](http://vityanikiforova.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/cutesudon) for more soft boys.


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